CHAPTER 67: ANSWERS AND MORE QUESTIONS

On Sunday night, after filling several containers with large amounts of water and organizing supplies, Lucien finally completed his main quest...

[Main Quest Completed!]

[Prepare for the Apocalypse!]

[Obtained Recipe: Crystal Bomb](+)

[Obtained 1900 Creation Points!]

[System AI Unlocked!]

(-)Recipe: Crystal Bomb: Recipe for creating explosive devices using organic materials and crystals from contaminated creatures! The power and range of the biological explosive depend on the level of the materials and crystals used.

Tip 1: Bombs can harm the creator, so be careful!

Tip 2: Bombs can be detonated by range detection or via the system!

This bomb is scary, but again, I have no materials...

Now that the AI has been unlocked, it’s time to get more answers...

"Hello, System. Can you answer a few questions for me?"

[Hello, Host. Yes, I’m available to answer questions related to your system!]

"Just about the system? You don’t know about the apocalypse?"

[I only know what you know. There are some additional things I know, but some of them you don’t have the Authorization/Age/Power to know yet!]

"What do Authorization and Age have to do with this?" Lucien asked angrily, ignoring the "power" restriction.

[The Creation System user is the youngest and most fragile of the five System hosts. Not only are you still a child, but your system has no offensive abilities... For this reason, your system has the greatest restrictions, both in terms of power limitations and information that would do you no good at this time...]

"What?"

Lucien was shocked. Were there four other System carriers? And his system was considered the weakest?

"Wait, what do you mean by power limitation? Last night I ate a Level 2 crystal, but not only did I waste the crystal, I also received an alert saying my mutant level remained at Level 1!"

[Exactly, the host is just a child, so your power was restricted to remain at Level 1 until you are mature enough to use that power. But don’t worry, the crystal you consumed will be digested later...]

"Damn! And who’s going to decide if I’m mature enough? You? What a joke..."

[Yes, it will be me. Even though I’ve only just awakened, I’ve been watching you the whole time these past few days and will continue to do so... I’ll also give you more missions and tests!]

"Okay, let’s talk about this later... I want to know more about the apocalypse. When will it start? Is it really in two days? What’s the origin of this disease?"

[Yes, the apocalypse will begin on Tuesday at noon. All humans already infected with the airborne version of the ZY virus and not immune will turn into aggressive zombies. Jyera’s animals, which are all dying right now as we speak, will return to life as monsters less than thirty minutes before the humans transform. After that, no technology will work, and in a few months, a new ice age will engulf all of Jyera and Jyor.]

"Wait! All the animals are dying. Does that mean Mr. M—"

[Yes, your pet passed away a few minutes ago... But we’ll still be able to save him, don’t worry.]

Lucien was interrupted mid-speech, but he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What about my father’s illness? Do you know what it is? Do you know my mother’s whereabouts?"

[Your father’s illness is the first of its kind, and there’s no data about it in the system or online. But I can confirm that he, like you, is immune to the ZY pathogen. I don’t have any information about your mother, but there are many reports of criminal activity in the capital online, and she may have been involved in some of it. I can confirm that there are no bodies, sick people, or missing people matching your description. You can also try to get more information about your mother by talking to the system holders in Aethoria.]

"What? Do you know where they are or what their names are?"

[I can sense their approximate location, but the system has a communication function between system holders. Do you want to send a message?]

"What? I don’t see that. Can you activate it, or are there any restrictions?"

[...]

[BEEP]

[...]

[I’m sorry, I made a mistake. There’s no such function in the system.]

"But you just said it existed!" Lucien raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

[I’m sorry, Lucien, I don’t have the ability to lie to the host or invent functions that don’t exist. I can confirm that this function exists in my software, but it doesn’t exist in the hardware, understand? I did a quick scan and discovered that it’s as if your system is missing some things, as if it were damaged or incomplete.]

"Can you fix this?"

[I’ll do my best, but it will take time...]

"Ok, no problem, one last question: If I’m so immature, young, and weak, why did you choose me?"

[I don’t know the reasons why each system chose its host, and that information isn’t available within the system either...]

"Okay, what are the missions you said you were going to give me to test me?"

[Two Optional Missions have been unlocked!]

[Sick Neighbor!]

-Ms. Helena from the floor below your apartment is unconscious due to the first symptoms of the ZY virus. Call an ambulance to take her to the hospital, but keep her house key after she’s taken away...

Reward: New special item unlocked in the shop! + 1 Random Recipe.

[Stock of Biological Materials!]

-Ms. Helena has many pet birds that are already dead. Wait for them to transform and evolve to collect crucial materials for the Creation skill...

Reward: 1 Random Recipe after preparations! + Extra Creation Points after killing each monster.

"This is very cold and cruel..." Lucien said, wanting to refuse the missions...

[But it’s necessary... When the apocalypse begins, you’ll only obtain these types of materials from the outside by putting yourself in extreme danger... Ms. Helena is already infected and won’t survive; sending her to the hospital is a way to make her more comfortable and pain-free. As for the animals, if you don’t take care of them, they will become a threat to all the survivors in the building.]

"For now, I’ll call the building manager and just order an ambulance, but I can’t guarantee I’ll do the rest."

[Remember, I’m evaluating your growth, Lucien. If you don’t mature quickly during the apocalypse, you won’t survive...]

"Sigh."

"911. What’s your emergency?"

"Hello, I need an ambulance in the Building..."

***

While the ambulance was on its way, the building’s manager was the first to arrive at Ms. Helena’s apartment door after Lucien.

"Hello, Lucien, are you sure she’s sick? I’m not allowed to open the residents’ door unless it’s a real emergency..."

"Yes, sometimes she invites me over for dinner, or asks me for a favor related to her pets... If she’s okay, I’ll take responsibility for that..."

"Ms. Helena, are you there? We’re going in..."

"Ms. Helena? It’s me, Lucien! Are you there?"

As soon as the door opened, Lucien and the building manager called for Ms. Helena. But with no answer, they soon found the old lady lying unconscious on the living room floor. When they touched her, they realized she was breathing with difficulty and had a high fever.

"I’ll call an ambulance..." said the Janitor, picking up his cell phone.

"No need, I already called."

Lucien saw the caretaker’s surprised look after his words, but ignored it as he bent down and gently held the hand of the woman who had always been kind to him...

[BEEP]

[Unlike the other infected, due to Mrs. Helena’s advanced age, her weaker immune system caused her to lose consciousness even in the mildest stage of the disease...]

"How did you know? You can scan the entire building?" Lucien asked in a low whisper.

[I forgot to tell you something. Time in Jyera and Jyor has regressed... That’s why the systems know what will happen and how some things will unfold. But there may be differences between the first apocalypse and the second one that’s about to begin, so don’t be so confident that I’m omniscient... But yes, I can see certain things happening in this building, as these events may influence your survival and also generate new missions...]

Lucien was speechless, trying to understand and digest the existence of such a temporal event... Soon, the paramedics arrived and took Mrs. Helena to the hospital. The building manager accompanied them down in the elevator, and Lucien was finally alone in the apartment.

He went to a family room and found several cages with many dead birds, and made sure they were all locked... Soon, he also found Rufus, Mrs. Helena’s old Saint Bernard, also motionless...

"This one’s really big, what should I do with him?"

[Tie the snout and paws with the wires from an appliance.]

Only then did Lucien leave the apartment, taking his key...

At the same time, the messages arrived...

[Optional Quest Completed!]

[Sick Neighbor!]

[New Special Item Unlocked in the Shop!]

[Obtained a Random Recipe!]

[Optional Quest Completed!]

[Biological Materials Stockpile!]

[Obtained a Random Recipe!]